


Simple

by AGreekDemigod



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam is one of the front desfk staff, Adam's a very playful dude, Adashi Gift Exchange 2019, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And he loves Black in every universe because I say so, First Date, Fluff, He knows what he wants, I love Matt and he's in all of my fics, Japanese Shiro (Voltron), M/M, Mentioned Matt Holt, Shiro (Voltron) is a Mess, Shiro gets a free trial to a gym near his new place, Shiro may or may not have bought a membership just to keep seeing him, Shiro rides a bike
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:22:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22294015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AGreekDemigod/pseuds/AGreekDemigod
Summary: Things were just not that simple.You just don't apply to a job and get hired right in the middle of the interview. Your co-workers just don't accept you that easily as an equal. Your boss doesn’t trust you enough just after a few months of working under him to relocate you into another facility, recommendation letter included. And your new boss definitely does not give you a free trial to his favourite gym as a welcome gift.***In which Shiro gets a free trial to a gym near his new place, Adam is one of the front desk staff and Shiro buys a membership to keep seeing him (and they may have a date after.)
Relationships: Adam/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	Simple

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic for the amazing Jess (@earth_daddy on twt :3 follow them! their Adam redraws are hilARIOUS). Thank you for waiting so patiently, dude unu <3
> 
> Now the actual notes aka my adashi hdcs:  
> -Adam has two siblings (2), the older is named Andrew, the younger Abigail. He is the middle child.  
> -Keith is and will always be Shiro's lil brother uwuwuwu.  
> -Shiro has a mom who he got all his lovely personality from  
> -The voltron lions are female and if you think otherwise you are w r o n g  
> -Both Shiro and Adam are part of the LGBTQ+ (obviously), their labels are up to you to choose.  
> -I like to imagine Alfor was the one that carved the lions  
> -Matt is Shiro's neighbour AND Shiro's best friend since they were 10
> 
> (And also, an special thanks to my beta (and friend!!!<333) Ana that i LOVE with all my heart. I don't know how I would survive without her.)

Shiro wasn’t sure how he felt about this.

In all honesty, he hadn’t felt sure about anything since his sophomore year at college, before choosing a path to specialize in and started checking corporations to intern in.

From that time to the present, there had been years, and Shiro graduated, travelled around for a bit and then started to actively searching for a job, which had proven to be just as stressful as he had imagined it. Still, he couldn’t quite believe his first option had actually wanted him, not because he underestimated his own abilities but because he was sure that didn’t really happen in real life. Things were just not that simple.

You just don't apply to a job and get hired right in the middle of the interview. Your co-workers just don't accept you that easily as an equal. Your boss doesn’t trust you enough just after a few months of working under him to relocate you into another facility, recommendation letter included. And your new boss definitely does not give you a free trial to his favourite gym as a welcome gift.

But it had all  _ actually _ happened, believe it or not, and Shiro didn’t know where he had taken the energy from to smile at Koran and thank him for such a specific present.

He wasn’t planning on making use of it (nor did he have the time or the energy, especially because he had to start from zero in his new work environment) until he found out that said gym was only two streets away from his new apartment, barely ten minutes away by walking, so he might as well take a look at it before dismissing it entirely.

He had to give it to Koran, though. The place was huge.

Whatever Shiro had imagined it to be was cast aside the moment he set a foot inside. From the white furniture to the plants that stood in every corner, everything pristine and in order, Shiro realised in awe that this was no regular gym but a top class one, with sauna spas, tempered pools and massage stations, all for the lucky fellas that had enough money to pay for it. Shiro felt as lost there as he had when he first entered his first gay bar, awkward and scared that at any moment anyone would point out at him and claim that he didn’t look enough like them to be there.

The attractive guy sitting at the receptionist desk didn’t make the situation less intimidating either.

“Welcome” he smiled, and Shiro didn’t think he had ever seen eyes of such beautiful colours before. “May I help you?”

Picking up his jaw where he had let it fall to the floor, Shiro blinked a couple of times before handing him the ticket Koran had given him, trying not to look like a creep as he stared at the receptionist.

“Okay,” he said and Shiro observed the way he pressed his lips together as he read something on the screen. "The trial is for a whole month so if you still want to make use of our facilities after, you will have to buy a membership for it.” His eyelashes were long too, fluttering softly every time he blinked. “You could wait until your free trial ends or buy it beforehand. Since there’s many discounts this time of the year I would recommend that course of action.” He was looking at him and that close Shiro could see the tiny dots of grey near his pupil, almost imperceptible between the green and hazel. “Sir?”

“Hum?”

“Would you like to purchase a membership now?”

“A membership," Shiro repeated and the receptionist nodded slowly, as if he was talking to a child. “Uh, yes, I will do that, I think."

“And what package would you like to get?” 

Oh, dear.

Looking frantically at the small box displaying the leaflets with each membership information, Shiro tried to search for a response, anything - yet his brain absorbed no real information, letters dancing in front of his eyes incomprehensively.

“Ah,” Shiro said eloquently. “Which one would you recommend?”

And the receptionist, who had maintained a calm expression the whole time, raised his brows.

*

Adam shouldn’t be having that much fun.

He shouldn’t be even there, since this was not even his job. Adam’s actual career is an interior designer, currently on vacation, with a formidable talent but with a poor ability to say no to his family, which had caused him a lot of problems as he grew up.

Not that replacing his little sister in her job was much of a hassle. Most of the time, it was only typing in the computer and rescheduling a client’s appointment, which could be solved with more typing. 

Sometimes there was an exasperated customer that wanted to talk to the manager for whatever reason, but when Adam was on shift, they could have never got past him. His colleagues, because he may as well call them that for all the time he spent there, liked to joke about it and Adam joined them occasionally, especially if they had brought food to share. They were cool people and Adam had to admit he had a soft spot for some of them, like Veronica or Hunk, and it was probably because of them that he didn’t complain much to Abigail every time she asked him to replace her again. That and the fact that she gave him the payment he deserved.

It was a simple job, one Adam was good with, if not particularly exciting. From time to time interesting things happened, like the guy at the other side of the counter for example.

It was fun to watch him, his manners almost shy, hesitant, avoiding his eyes and flushing when their gazes met, almost stuttering when he asked him about a term he didn’t understand in the contract Adam had handed him.

He was probably the most attractive person Adam had ever met, broad shoulders, strong jaw, a handsome face. He was a sight to sore eyes and damn, weren’t Adam’s sore after hours sitting there looking at the computer screen. Looking at him was like being back at his high school days, before people decided to replace honesty for pretense.

The guy, whose name was Takashi Shirogane based on the information file he had completed, seemed to be almost done in reading the contract which would be impressive if Adam hadn’t noticed how his expression looked lost for moments, obviously not concentrated in its contents.

Adam made sure to comment about important sections of it though, remarking important sentences in the terms and explaining a bit more of the clauses that he was allowed to share. Still, he just wouldn’t let someone sign a contract when they were obviously uninformed, he wasn’t that much of an asshole.

“That will be all for now,” Adam said, after everything was signed and the guy had his new membership card in his possession. 

If he had to be honest, it was almost a shame that their interaction would come to an end. Adam knew himself enough to know that in another context, he wouldn’t let this man go so easily, trying to get his contact number between casual flirting and sly smiles, without being scared of the repercu-

“Would you go out with me?”

He didn’t think anyone had surprised him enough to break his poker face the way he did then, Adam could feel the serenity in his face being replaced by utter shock, an expression mirrored in the guy’s face, turning redder with every second that passed, as the realisation settled in him. He looked kinda horrified even, and Adam could read him so easily, knowing that an apology will come next if he didn’t say something soon, followed by an excuse and a rushed escape to the door.

But Adam did want to say something. So he wouldn’t let him go back on his words, when he himself had been considering saying them for the past half hour.

So Adam sent everything to hell, professionalism be damned because this was not even his job anyway. Without giving a second thought, Adam, interior designer, middle brother and part-time receptionist, accepted.

*

So he really had done that.

Shiro sighed as he closed his eyes, his mind replaying the scene all over again for the fourteenth time in that hour.

He had asked him out. Him, the receptionist of the guy his boss had recommended him. And the most bizarre, wonderful, part was that he had accepted.

The thought was enough to make him smile at his iced coffee, which at this point was halfway to melting from how much Shiro passed it between his hands instead of actually drinking it.

Shiro looked at the clock displayed on one of the coffee shop’s walls and sighed again. After accepting, the receptionist had told him there was still an hour for his shift to get over and that he would meet him in the coffee shop down the street. Which was where Shiro was now waiting, flinching when the doorbell rang every time someone entered the premise.

A part of him, the most rational one, told him he was being ridiculous, getting all flustered like a teenager with his first crush.

_ And yet _ , Shiro thought as he noticed him making his way between the rest of the tables, _ yet _ he felt just like one every time he saw him looking his way, his heart thundering in his chest like a drum.

Ridiculous, indeed. He didn’t even know this guy’s name.

“It’s Adam,” He had responded when Shiro had asked him. “Adam Wright, a pleasure.”

_ Adam. _

“So, Shiro,” Adam had said, after the waiter had taken their orders, a macchiato for Adam and a slice of strawberry mousse for Shiro. “What can you tell me about yourself?”

Simple question, yet Shiro found himself tensing on his seat. Where to start? A recently graduated engineer, with anxiety problems and awful cooking abilities, who still missed his home terribly even after two months of moving here. His life wasn’t interesting.

_ And whose is _ ? He could almost hear Matt saying in his head.  _ We are common people, dude. What makes our lives interesting is our attitude to it. _

What they enjoyed. And there were so many things Shiro enjoyed.

He started by listing his hobbies, which weren’t many, but it was something. Running, building gundam, How he hadn’t liked reading until he had a new literature teacher in his last year in high school, who encouraged the creativity and imagination of his students, to not limit themselves by a simple description made by an author. Shiro had read more than twenty books that year, which was probably more books than he had ever read in whole secondary school. Adam had commented that it was also thanks to a teacher that he had started writing.

“Only as a hobby, though, and I’ve never really posted anything.” He explained and Shiro could swear there was a soft pink colouring his caramel skin, “My family are the only ones that read my drafts. I caught my brother many times stealing my laptop trying to see if I had written more.”

Shiro mentioned he also had a brother, but his was younger than him and still in high school.

“He is something special,” he had told Adam, who was still chuckling after the story of when Keith had once fell into a fountain, dragging Shiro with him when he had tried to hold onto something. “But I would give my life for him.”

When Shiro told him about his mom, and how they had both moved from Japan when he was barely ten, Adam’s eyes had softened. Apparently he also had family outside the country and though he didn’t share many of their culture he still felt sometimes as if that land was calling him home.

“Maybe I’m a bit in love with what my parents told me about it or maybe it is in my blood. But I’m visiting it as soon as Abigail graduates, we three had been planning it since forever.”

But probably the most unexpected thing had been discovering they had a friend in common, which seemed to be Shiro’s childhood friend Matt, who also seemed to be part of the guild Adam had in a game online.

“We met for the first time at an anime convention last year.” Adam said, if only to confirm the fact that yes, they both were talking about the same person.

“Matt and I went to Olkari City last autumn for the White Lion Con. ”

The idea of both of them almost meeting just a few months ago was probably what melted the rest of the ice. After that their conversation had moved on naturally, jumping from topics like what they had both seen in the event to what they were doing at the current time with their lives and then about the city in general, its story, its people and its attractions.

Shiro hadn’t felt so comfortable talking with a stranger about trivial stuff in a long time, and definitely never with a partner. As if he somehow he knew him. The feeling of a first date was there, undoubtedly, the new discoveries, the excitement, but also an ease that came with a connection you just don't share with anyone.

When eventually Shiro had explained to him how for Japanese people calling someone by their first name was an intimate thing reserved for family, close friends and lovers, he was sure that this time Adam had blushed for real, in such a charming way that Shiro’s breath had gotten stuck in his throat.

Maybe, one day, if everything went right that day for them for many dates to follow, maybe, Shiro would be able to hear Adam calling him by his first name. He knew he wanted to.

*

He had been a fool, he had underestimated this guy’s charisma.

Now Adam looked at him laugh, completely captivated, while Shiro evaded his eyes as he blushed, which he seemed to do often. Their empty cups were abandoned on the table between them and the mousse had been eaten nearly three hours ago and Adam couldn't recall when that happened, too absorbed in Shiro’s stories and comments that the rest had faded with the background.

“Let’s go,” Adam suddenly said once they have paid for their food, taking Shiro’s hand in his and pulling him towards the entrance.

“Where?” Shiro asked, letting himself be dragged outside.

Adam didn’t know, it had been an impulse, suddenly the air inside the shop too thick for him to breathe normally. But maybe he could use this as an excuse to show Shiro around. 

“Let’s decide on our way there.”

The shopping market district ended up being their destination, one of the many they would go that evening and Adam had fun guiding Shiro through the shops, specially the ones with antiques, which were Adam’s personal favourites. It was almost a race, not taking more than ten minutes in every shop and leaving mostly empty handed but with big smiles on their faces.

“No buying each other gifts in the first date,” Adam said when Shiro saw him looking at a golden bracelet with vine designs with too much interest. 

He had tried to deny it but after seeing Adam’s sceptical expression he had conveniently turned his eyes to the crystal lamp hanging from the ceiling.

And if Adamsaw him looking at it rather intensely before following out, Adam pretended not to see it.

Adam had guided him to an ice cream parlor after that, where he was a regular client because of the wide variety of flavours they had and how tasty they all were. Even though he loved mint chocolate chips the most, he still made various comments about the rest, watching Shiro’s expression shine with curiosity as he read some tags.

It was almost a disappointment to see Shiro’s final choices.

“Cream and chocolate. Seriously.”

“You chose the ones you told me you always choose!”

“Yes, but I’ve already tried the rest so I know why I like them the most.”

Shiro would have raised his hands in exasperation if he hadn’t had an ice cream cone in his left hand, though that didn’t stop him from rolling his eyes. “Next time I will take the risk, then."

“Yes.” Adam said after a pause. Shiro didn’t seem to notice the slip so it was only Adam blushing this time which was a good thing since he was sure he was smiling like an idiot as they headed out. “Next time."

*

“How adventurous are you feeling?” Shiro had asked later that day, the sky above turning a soft pink as the evening approached.

“What? You got a surprise for me?”

Shiro nodded and moved his head in the opposite way they were going, the same direction the ice cream parlor, the market street and the gym were.

Adam had observed him for a second, how Shiro licked his lips in hesitation, and a not so small part of him wondered if they felt just as cold as his own were and if he could taste the remains of sugar on them in case he were to kiss him.

“Lead the way then,” He said and Shiro, who Adam had learnt that evening that he always seemed to care about the other’s feelings first, extended his hand to him, asking him to follow him.

And so Adam did.

*

When he had moved in, he had hired a whole bus to carry his stuff, bed and rest of his furniture to his new apartment.

But her, no, Shiro had wanted to ride her to his new home himself.

It has been his gift for himself once he graduated, with all the money he had earned while he was an intern. He had initially wanted to give it to his mom, to help her with the house payments, but she had refused.

“It was from your own work, Takashi. You deserve to spend it on whatever you want.”

And so he did, buying his first bike all by himself.

He knew how to ride it, he had known for years, from the same neighbour that got him interested in bikes in the first place.

Still, riding his own bike felt different than riding any of Ulaz’s spares. And the feeling of euphoria as he cut through the wind with pure speed was indescribable.

He kept his bike in the garage of the apartment building, in the place where he was supposed to park his car. Some days he used it to go to work but most times he rode it when he needed his mind to turn off, leaving only his physical connection with the rest of the world, catharsis in the form of adrenaline.

But that wasn’t the only thing he wanted to show Adam that evening, but how different is the sight of your surroundings when all your senses are awake.

*

It was a beautiful bike, a black Harley with elegant lines and shape, shimmering under the last rays of the sun. Adam was speechless.

“You will need this.” Shiro said, after going to his apartment for an extra jacket and helmet. “They are both clean, don’t worry,”

Adam admired the orange patterns on the helmet and the smoothness of the jacket Shiro handed to him. He had read about protective measures while riding bikes and how road accidents not only broke bones but burnt and tore skin as if it was paper. The use of leather jackets and helmets were more than simply aesthetic for bikers.

Still, Adam couldn’t help raise an eyebrow at Shiro, clearly aware of the subtle implications of wearing someone else’s clothes, only reinforced when Shiro avoided his gaze completely.

Another thing Adam noted was the size of the jacket. Shiro wasn’t taller than Adam for more than four centimeters yet Adam knew the jacket looked bigger on him the moment he put it on.

He should have expected it, Shiro’s back was broader and he had more muscle where Adam obviously did not, so the sleeves almost covered his hand and the jacket looked loose on his arms and waist. Since Adam was taller than average, it was a new experience for him to feel rather small, especially when both the jacket and the helmet smelled like the perfume Shiro used.

_ This is not a boyfriend jacket, _ he scolded himself, as he turned to Shiro, who was already sitting on his bike, helmet in hand and eyes shining with doubt.

“You know, you can still-“

“I won’t back down, Shirogane.” Adam cut him off, raising a hand before accommodating in the seat behind him, gravity making him slide towards the centre so his chest and thighs were flushed against Shiro’s back. Adam tried not to think much about it. “Now get moving, before I start doubting that you know how to ride this beauty.”

The helmets and the roar of the bike as it came to life made impossible to hear anything but Adam still felt the tremble in Shiro’s chest, hard muscle contracting under his palms as he laughed. Why Shiro needed a gym membership when he was packet was a mystery for Adam.

Shiro lead the bike towards the street, speeding steadily so Adam could get used to it by the time they reached the roads near the beach, empty for them to use. Adam felt a knot tightening in his chest as Shiro sped up suddenly, his cackles getting carried out in the wind as his arms tightened around Shiro’s waist. He felt the adrenaline turning his blood into fire, and even though Adam’s fingers felt numb because of how hard he was holding onto Shiro, there was an excitement that made that whole experience thrilling instead of scary. 

He was almost disappointed when Shiro gradually slowed down as they got back on the main streets, parking in front of the park before taking a second to take their helmets off and then a minute for their hearts to calm down to a normal pace.

Adam looked around, recognising the park immediately. He had come here uncountable times since he was a kid, with his parents, siblings and even friends when there were some events organised there like food fairs or handicrafts markets and at couple of occasions, a concert.

But on a normal day, the park, with its wide and beautiful gardens, was used for picnics or just to enjoy a nice walk, the tall and leafy trees providing shadow to its visitors as they enjoyed the flowers’ sweet perfumes and vibrant colors.

The main reason of its popularity though, was the fountain located in the middle of its gardens, portraying the statues of five lionesses in various positions like hunting, playing or just sitting around, each with unique details that differentiated them from the other despite being all carved in white marble.

Four of them were positioned around a fifth one, the biggest of them all, which someone would assume it was sitting relaxed if it weren’t for the tensed details of her paws, as if she was ready to jump at any danger.

“I found this place the day I moved in.” Shiro said when he and Adam stopped in front of the statues. The night has gotten quite chilly so Adam hadn’t take Shiro’s jacket off yet and Shiro hadn’t asked him to return it. 

“I rode around until I found this place and admiring this fountain at night distracted me from my homesickness somehow, even if it was only for a few seconds.” He smiled at Adam softly before turning his head back to the fountain. “This has become my favourite spot to think.”

Adam followed his gaze to the cascades that fell out of each lion’s mouth, falling between their impressive canines. “The people here named them, you know. Because of the different colours of their eyes. Yellow, Blue, Green, Red and Black. Not very creative but maybe that’s why it stayed.”

Shiro chuckled at that. “Black. I like it.” And then after a second.“She is my favourite.”

“Because she’s the leader?”

“Because she seems to be the kind of leader that would protect her team regardless of her position.”

“You are right.” Adam agreed, before smiling teasingly. “But also, if you notice the rest of the lionesses’ body language, you can tell not only do they trust them to do so, but are also willing to protect her in exchange. Subtly, as if it was a secret among them.”

“’We can’t let our leader know we are also protecting her back!’”

They spent a good time there, making jokes around the fountain and sharing theories about what the artist had tried to represent as well as their own opinions about it and when the time to leave came, they looked back one last time before heading back to Shiro’s bike.

“Maybe you will find your own pack one day.” Adam suddenly said, his jaw resting on Shiro’s shoulder, before they put their helmets again to ride away. He felt Shiro’s warm hand on his a second after, interlacing their fingers over his stomach.

“I want to believe I will.”

*

Shiro dropped Adam in the train station after he insisted that he could make his way home without problem despite the hour.

“It is not that late. I think I can manage.” Adam grinned and Shiro wondered if it would be too soon to kiss him there, as he had wanted to do the whole day. He dismissed the idea just as quickly as it had came and settle with admire the reflection of the streetlights in Adam’s eyes instead. He truly was beautiful.

“Thanks for today. I had a wonderful time.”

“Me too.” Taking a pen out of his trousers' pocket, Adam wrote a number down on Shiro’s pale skin, kissing his cheek softly once he finished and smirking the second he saw Shiro’s expression. “Just in case you want to repeat this.”

Shiro’s cheek was still tingling and hot when he waved back at Adam, and even way later, once he had let himself fall onto his bed to head to sleep.

But it was difficult, the events of the day filling his mind as he held his wrist against his chest, brushing Adam’s writing softly with his thumb and smiling like an idiot at the ceiling.

Not first name basis yet, nor boyfriend’s jacket. But Shiro had a gym membership for thrice a week and Adam’s phone number saved on his phone and that, for now, was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Narrator voice: and then years later, Shiro may or may not have proposed to Adam in front of that fountain (And Adam, boyfriend, interior designer and in love, accepted.) 
> 
>   
> Istg i dont' know how i ended up writing 4k about this.  
> Anyways, thank you for reading!


End file.
